Day 38 - Monday, July 26 – Black Mountain, Old Fort, Hickory

Day 38 - Monday, July 26 – Black Mountain, Old Fort, Hickory

Tried Best Buy and an AT&T-Nokia store for cord to connect Renate’s phone to a computer, so she can download her photos. No luck.

Drove I-40 east to Black Mountain – a noted “craft” and “artists” town. Chrissy had called in morning and recommended lunch at “...An Apple a Day. It’s kind of funky. They serve green water.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXegTDxQyM


Sure enough they DID. Claimed to have algae in it, and many health benefits. Tasted slightly minty to me. More important – free. Keep taking what you want. Menu is almost vegan. 

We had Hungarian mushroom soup. I had a wrap with everything and Tahini sauce. I like it. Renate had avocado sandwich and even ate the spinach leaves! (Baby spinach?). 
The owners and their son were there working to keep the lunch crowd moving.

And we shared the tofu chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Good. Heavy. Nice raspberry sauce.

I ran to a tourist shop and bought a “Black Mountain” tile. Then, sirened back by a $$ wind chime in front of some artsy place – Bramblewood Cottage, - I splurged. Made in Virginia. Came with a warranty! (Shopkeeper related a customer’s good experience with warranty).

I never realized till that moment that I really am enamored by wind chimes. It was my third one on the trip.

Then I went to “Town Hardware” which I remember from years ago. Cheap old fashion toys, sundries, and honest hardware. Thinking of Chrissy’s young boy and girl, I bought 2 labyrinth games (1 for me), a slinky, a harmonica, and a twirly thing that’s supposed to sound like a buffalo. I’m not sure which the kids will get.

Returning to parking lot, I pushed a woman’s Volkswagen van away from driveway entrance where it had just quit! I couldn’t help any further.

Continued to Old Fort, before which I-40 makes one of the longest descents, perhaps in the US. Rosetta tells of common runaway truck accidents. Trucks by law must pull into a short by-pass at the top where the extreme danger is emphasized. Three “Runaway Truck Ramps” grace the way down.

Sand off the shoulder is an up-hill Run Away Truck Ramp

Drove the 8 miles along Bat Cave Road to Wezeltown Rd. That’s it’s legal name, but is actually the quarter-mile steep, narrow, winding, graveled, pot-holed, shoulderless, death-defying borderless, and occasionally subterranean (eroded tree roots overhang from the mountain side) driveway to Wezel’s house – or houses. Wezel is the nickname affectionately earned by Rosetta’s dad. He “wezeled” many possessions for himself and others through judicious junk-collecting and bartering.

Besides his house – pieced together and upgraded over the years - , there is “Granny Me’s” house further up the hill. It is clean, modern, up to code, all good stuff. Up a different hill is “Rosetta’s house” in a perpetual state of unfinished. I’m told that Rosetta’s younger sister, Juniper bought a house adjacent, but I haven’t seen it.

View of Wezel's house down the hill from Granny-me's

My parents used to visit and bring various foods, clothing, and stuff when Wezel and Denise lived with their two young daughters in one room! They didn’t NEED it, but always appreciated it and returned more in food, lodging, and friendship.

I exuded caution and confidence chauffeuring Renate up and down Wezeltown’s driveways, keeping her white-knuckling in check. But it gets harrowing and I’m grateful that no on-coming inhabitant required me to back up or down any of the one-way passages.

Wezel wasn’t home, but I call the trip a success.

Onward to Hickory. Chrissy lives on NW 7th St, as opposed to SW 7th St. 
As opposed to SE 7th St.
As opposed to NE 7th St.
Hickory streets were laid out and enumerated by an evil logician. Despite denial, supposedly parallel “avenues” intersect other “avenues”, and many “streets” and “avenues” exist in a variety of names – prefixing with NE, NW, SE, SW. And in addition there are suffixes of streets, courts, circles, places, who knows?
It inspired me to create a game:
Below is a map of downtown Hickory. How many DIFFERENTLY NAMED STREETS can you find that begin with "2nd"?

How many differently named streets in Hickory begin with "2nd"?  Answer is at the bottom of this post.
We found Chrissy’s key left for us by her mom. The house is wonderful and clean. How do people with kids do that? I never could connect with their wireless, but – I’m typing without it.

Parked at Chrissy's the day before they arrived from vacation in Michigan - Eric's parents

We drove to Union Square by the old train station and ate at The Ole Hickory Tap Room. Fish-n-chips (er.. fish-n-veggies) for both of us. Not thrilling.

Renate’s already in bed, and I’m about to shower and retire to the pull-out trundle.

G’night.












Leave me alone. I'm sleeping.








OH! 
How many differently named "2nds" in Hickory?


I count 11. 
But there ought to be 13! 

Check out the three purple circles, all indicating 2nd St SE. Can you imagine driving along that street, looking for an address? And the street just ends!
"What happened to the rest of 2nd street?"
"Oh, we moved it down the street...er...avenue."


And what kind of name is "2nd St Dr NE"????


Wonder if people there name their kids that way?
Like, I know a "Chrissy". 
Maybe it's really "ChrisSE".
She's got a brother "ChrisNW"


Is it politically incorrect to make fun a street names?


G'night again.